The Dardanelle School Board will vote on a reformatted dual credit program for their high school next week, following a growing trend of varying dual credit programs in the River Valley area.

Principal Marcia Lawrence has looked into a new format for high school students looking to earn both high school and college credits. The format, which Arkansas Tech University advocates, includes credentialed high school teachers teaching college courses at the school.

“We were encouraged by parent groups to consider this option, and we started researching it this summer,” Lawrence said.

The new program would see the Dardanelle School District paying for students’ tuition and books, in addition to billing Arkansas Tech for the teachers’ time. If passed, the program will initially offer six hours of concurrent English credit — Composition 1 and 2 — for students.

Despite the program’s obvious advantages — students get a head start on earning college credits, in addition to getting a feel for college classes — several of the board members express concern about the impact the program might have on their curriculum.

“The board feels that we do what we do very well,” Lawrence said, citing the school’s high standardized test scores. “So we don’t want to do something that makes our foundational classes less effective.”

Lawrence cites research showing that while concurrent credit courses do give the students an early start on college, it could come at the cost of a solid educational foundation.

Dardanelle currently offers concurrent credit options through AP and vocational classes. Seniors also have the option of enrolling at Arkansas Tech and driving their for classes two hours per day. But with this option, students must pay for their own tuition and books.

“[With the new plan], kids are going to get six hours for no cost,” Lawrence said. “The classes will be taught on our campus, by our teachers, with Tech’s syllabus.”

But while the Board faces a dillemma, Lawrence sees plenty of positives in the conundrum.

“I do appreciate the fact that they are proud of their curriculum and cautious to change it. I feel like we’re choosing between two good things,” she said with a laugh.

Dardanelle is the latest school to consider offering more diverse dual credit options for its students. Other schools, such as Pottsville and Russellville, offer distance learning programs for their students. In a distance learning format, students sit in a classroom while a teacher interacts with them through a television screen at the front of the class through a video link. This allows the teacher to interact with and teach students without physically being in the class.

“Students can get a taste of college with a safety net at Pottsville High School,” Pottsville counselor Mark Lee said. “They can try it out, and see if it’s something they like.”

Pottsville offers a multitude of courses for high school students, including Composition 1 and 2, College Algebra and Trigonometry, U.S. History, Public Speaking, and Western Civilization.

“Some kids graduate our high school with over twenty-four hours of college credit,” Lee said.

Russellville also offers distance learning courses in addition to allowing students to drive to Arkansas Tech campus to attend classes. “Most students enroll in day classes, and some take night classes as well,” counselor Charlotte Locke said.

Like the other school districts, Russellville’s distance learning program is free for its students.